Frontispiece from Blondlot's 'N Rays', 1905.

Description

Photographic plate. Shortly after the discovery of X-rays in 1900, the French scientist Rene Blondlot (1849-1930) reported that he had discovered a new type of invisible radiation, which he named the 'N' ray in honour of his home town of Nancy. Although several of Blondlot's contemporaries also claimed to have seen 'N' rays, later work showed that no such ray exists.